‘You Have to Open Doors.’ Julianne Moore Says She Backs Quotas for Gender Parity in Film

(CANNES, France) — Julianne Moore said Wednesday that larger efforts are needed in order for the movie industry to reach gender parity, and that means implementing quotas.

“We will not have gender parity unless everybody is cooperating. Women are not a special interest group. We’re 52 percent of the global population,” Moore said during an event at the Cannes Film Festival. “In order to restore the balance, I do think that there will be, that we will need some measures to change our culture.”

“We will have to make major changes to reach parity. That’s just a fact. So, I do believe in quotas. I really do,” added Moore. “I believe in trying to level the playing field for everybody regardless of their gender or their culture or ethnicity. You have to open doors.”

While gender quotas haven’t been much discussed in Hollywood, they’re more common in Europe where filmmaking is often partly supported by public money. Sweden, Norway and Ireland have instituted 50-50 quotas in allocating public funds for male and female filmmakers, as has the British Film Institute.

Women made up 8% of directors on the top 250 films at the U.S. box office last year, down from 11 percent the year before, according to a study in January from San Diego State University’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.

Moore spoke Wednesday at a Mastercard MasterClass event alongside Werner Herzog and Xavier Dolan. In Cannes, she stars in the short film “The Staggering Girl” directed by Luca Guadagnino, which is playing in the Directors’ Fortnight section.